Angular momentum relaxation in binary collisions. Comparison of cross sections

The values of the collisional efficiency for rotational angular momentum transfer bij are compared for various probe molecules (i=NNO, CO2, CO, N2, CF4, CH4, and SF6 ) with different collision partners ( j=same set as i plus Ar, Kr, Xe, and HCl). The trends in bij are consistent with an underlying kinematic factor which is the same as the collisional efficiency for angular momentum transfer in the perfectly rough hard sphere model of Chandler, modified by electronic factors which depend primarily on the anisotropy of the molecule and secondly on the polarizability and anisotropy of the collision partner.